4 reasons sunscreen is a must

Summer is almost officially here and you know what that means… fun in the sun! Finally! However, before you even think about going out and having fun you must apply your sunscreen. Yes, I will nag you until I’m blue in the face. You MUST MUST MUST wear your sunscreen and here’s why:

Skin CancerI don’t think I need to go into great detail about what skin cancer is, unfortunately, because it is so widespread. However, there are different types of skin cancer. Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer and affects people of all ages and skin types. Did you know that one person dies of melanoma every hour? This can be prevented by wearing sunscreen. Just five sunburns over the course of your life doubles your risk for melanoma. You know how you avoid sunburns? SUNSREEN! (Find more facts at SkinCancer.org.)

WrinklesWant that youthful look forever? Sorry, it’s not going to happen, but you can prolong it if you wear sunscreen and keep your face covered while in the sun. Of course, some will argue that you can fix wrinkles with Botox and other cosmetic procedures, but sunscreen is much cheaper (and less painful) than plastic surgery.

Sun SpotsIf you think looking like a Dalmatian is cute then don’t wear your sunscreen. The sun causes these hard-to-remove spots and they are not attractive. They can appear pretty much anywhere on your body so be sure to thoroughly cover yourself.

SunburnOUCH. No amount of aloe can soothe a bad burn. There’s nothing more uncomfortable than bra straps when your back is on fire. The most common reason for burning is forgetting to reapply. So make sure you wear your sunscreen and reapply every two hours… more if you get in the water.

There are basically a million and one reasons why you should wear sunscreen and zero reasons why you shouldn’t. If you are worried about what is in sunscreen check out EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Database to find the safest brands. It’s time that we all started taking the sun seriously and protecting ourselves. Like my mother always said (every single day that I attended college in sunny Florida), “Don’t forget your sunscreen!!”